For The Home

The new year is upon us. If you received some gift cards for the holidays, put them to good use buying household items. Maybe you are setting up your wedding registry and aren’t sure what to pick. Here are a few of my favorite kitchen items.

A wedding gift card put to good use! This Calphalon Wok is made specially for Williams Sonoma and its amazing. Lifting it, you can feel its durability but its thin sloping sides distribute heat evenly and quickly. I love to use this for stir frying and creating noodle bowls. The flat bottom sits perfectly on my stovetop and the handles make it easy to maneuver. This is a great piece to add to your cookware collection if you love one-pot meals like I do!

If cooking already doesn’t make you happy enough maybe you need a little reminder to smile in the kitchen. Zak Designs make a variety of smiley spoons for serving or cooking in bright, fun colors. These are great as gifts or to spread cheer around your own kitchen, especially if you have children around who want to help out!

A small obsession of mine is Longaberger baskets and pottery. I can blame my mom for this one always having them around growing up. I’ve acquired quite the collection of baskets myself and set up a wedding registry with my Longaberger consultant for some pottery and serving pieces. My favorite serving pottery is the Handled Platter. The best part of their pottery is that it is microwave, oven, dishwasher, and freezer safe. I have my handled platter in ivory so it is versatile for any season or décor. It’s perfect for holding cookies, cheese & crackers, appetizers, or a rectangular cake.

The Vitamix 5200 is their standard model often seen in stores. Ever since seeing the Vitamix on display at the Big E as a young adult I wanted one. Every year I would attend and sample peanut butter, ice cream, soup and be fascinated by how much one blender could do. When my husband and I were buying our house I know I had to get a Vitamix. Conveniently they were a featured item at Costco during that timeframe. We spent almost an hour talking to the sales representative and learning about this high-end blender. While he may have thought it was ridiculous to spend so much on a blender at first, my husband was convinced and even mesmerized by the power of the Vitamix. With its 10-year warranty, versatility and ability to crush foods, this is a must have splurge for everyone’s kitchen.

Cookbook Stand

Even though I constantly say I’m
the worst with following recipes, I do try very often at least! A convenient kitchen tool is a sturdy cookbook stand so that you can prop your book upright and hold it to its page. It gets difficult when your pages are flipping and your hands are covered! I bought mine on Amazon and there are tons of styles to choose from. Here is a great option.

Every home needs a waffle maker so why not get a fun one? Since I’m a Disnerd, I would naturally opt for something Disney inspired to shape my breakfast. I have a Minnie waffle maker myself but you can’t go wrong with traditional Mickey. There are some other fun characters like Olaf or Darth Vader too. I spray mine with coconut oil from Trader Joe’s before using and have made protein waffles, Kodiak cakes, and traditional pancakes with it.